Punching pipe for converter tuyeres



Aug. 30, 1949.

T. W. CAVERS El' AL PUNcHiNG PIPE' Fon CONVERTER "TUYERES Filed Feb. 7,1947 Patented Aug. 30, `1949 2,480,394 PUNCHING PIPE FOR CONVERTERTUYRES Thomas Willard Cavers, John Ali'red Cook Franklin, Reginald ClareMott, and Hugh Fredrick Charles Taylor,

assignors to Falconbrid Toronto, Ontario, Ca

This invention pertains to the construction of tuyres used in convertersin which copper and/or nickel matte is converted to a higher gradeproduct such as White metal or blister, and pertains particularly to anovel construction of punching pipes therefor which are means forpreventing the obstruction of the said tuyres so that the blast air maypass into the molten metal bath freely and inthe desired volume at alltimes, thus reducing the time required for the converting operation.

Converters are well known in the art, and' need not be described herein.Generally speaking, a converter is a horizontally disposed cylinder, thelength of which is approximately twice its diameter, say for example, 26ft. long by 13 ft. in diameter, and it is lined throughout with, say 13inches to 22 inches of refractory brick. At the top of the horizontallydisposed cylinder is provided an opening or mouth which, in theforegoing example, might be 6 ft. in diameter; the cylinder is mountedon trunnions so that it may be rotated about a horizontal axis. Thematte is poured into the converter through the mouth, and when theconverting operation is finished, the converter is rotated on itstrunnions so that the material therein may be poured out of the mouth.

When the converter is fully charged with matte and flux (SiOz), theinterior thereof is approximately half full. It is of course essentialto the operation that blasts of air be blown through the matte at a rateof about 500 cubic ft. per

minute per tuyre. The air is injected into the matte by means of, say 34to 38 tuyres, which essentially are boiler tubing, approximately 2inches in diameter set in line horizontally in the, shell of theconverter and built into the brick lining thereof. In the particularconverter used as an example herein, the distance between the centreline of each tuyre is 6 inches.

In converting matte, the object of the operation being to remove theiron, each blow lasts approximately one hour. During this operationtheSiOz is combined with the FeO as it is produced by the oxidation ofthe iron of the matte, and slag is formed. The tuyres are submerged inthe matte bath until the end of the blow, when the converter is tiltedon its trunnions, thus carrylng the inner end of the tuyres above thelevel Falconbridge, Ontario, Canada, ge Nickel Mines Limited,

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Application February 7, 1947, Serial No. 727,150 2 Claims. (Cl. 26S-41)of the matte; the air is cut o by the closing of a master main valve.

Slag is lighter than matte and tends to rise to the surface of the bath,but since the slag is produced particularly at the point where thel airis admitted to the bath, i. e. at the tuyre ends, some of it iscongealed on the ends of the tuyre pipes thereby forming an obstructionwhich tends to c ut off the air supply.

The air supply to the tuyres is usually provided by an air manifoldconnected to a suitable air compressor, the said manifold being securedto the converter somewhat above the level of the bank of tuyres andextending parallel to the side walls of the said converter. At the outerextremity of each tuyre is commonly provided a casting usually known asthe tuyre stock," and a short pipe connects the tuyre stock to the airmanifold so as to convey the air supply from the latter to the tuyrepipe.

In the prior practice, so as to remove the slag which congeals at theinterior end of each tuyre, a solid bar was manually thrust through aDyblie valve (well known in the art) at the outer end of the tuyrestock, and this bar was pushed through the full length of the tuyre pipeand into the molten bath, thereby breaking off the accretion ofcongealed slag on the inner end of the tuyre pipe.

Since the punching operation is manually performed, the time intervalsbetween each operation are more or less at the discretion of the workmanand therefore the accretions or lfnoses at the end of each tuyre pipeare often so large and solid as to require a blow from a heavy hammerapplied at the outer end of the bar,

which procedure is liable to injure the brick lining of the converter.In addition the bar, being solid, reduces the quantity of air passinginto the molten bath, thereby slowing down the converting of the matte;moreover, since the bar is introduced through the Dyblie valve on theouter end of the tuyre stock, a substantial quantity of blast air islost to the atmosphere during the time that the bar is in the tuyre.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a noveltuyre pipe construction in which areincorporated automatic mechanicallyoperated means to remove accretions of 3 slag forming at the inner endof the said tuyre pipe.

It is another object of this invention to provide means for the removalof slag at the inner end of a tuyre pipe, which will in no way nor atany time interfere with the normal now of blast air through the saidtuyre pipe.

It is a further object of this invention to provide means for theremoval of accretions at the end of the tuyre pipe, the said means whichcomprise a hollow punching pipe being so constructed that the workingend or tip thereof is removable so that it may be easily and simplyremoved when it has become worn or burned off.

The foregoing and other advantages are achieved by providing a tuyrepipe construction in which is inserted a hollow tubular rod or punchingpipe, the outer walls of which are spaced from the inner walls of thetuyre pipe. When the punching pipe is in its normally withdrawnposition, its inner end extends to within three or four inches from theinner end of the tuyre pipe. At the outer end of the punching pipe is anextension which projects into a power cylinder and to the said extensionis secured a piston operating in the said cylinder. Compressed air,controlled by a suitable valve mechanism, is supplied'at predeterminedintervals to the power cylinder alternately on each side of the piston,thereby causing the punching pipe to reciprocate in the tuyre pipe.

The blast air coming from the air manifold is blown in the converter,both through the annular space between the outside periphery of thepunching pipe and the inner walls of the tuyre pipe, and through thecentral portion of the punching pipe; suitable perforations are providedin the walls of the punching pipe to permit the air to enter into thecentral portion thereof.

Thus the punching pipe disclosed and claimed herein, not only removesthe accretions from the end of the tuyres on the bath end thereof, butbeing hollow and provided with holes for the admission of air, it alsocarries air into the bath at all times. If a solid bar were used, itwould not be practical to leave the solid bar in the tuyre pipe at alltimes, since it would restrict the flow of air to a considerable extent;if the bar were made of a diameter sufficiently small so as not toappreciably restrict the flow of air, or else if the diameter of thetuyre pipe were enlarged, such a construction would be inoperative,since it could not properly remove the accretions at the inner or bathend of the tuyre pipe unless the end of the said pipe were almostcompletely blocked. With the punching pipe used in the presentinvention, the air passes freely to the bath at all times and the speedof converting is increased, since the speed of this operation is afunction of the quantity of air admitted in a given time.

The accretions of slag formed on the bath ends of the tuyres are removedbefore they become large and solid, and thus they are broken up withoutinjury to the expensive magnesite brick lining of the converter. Thepunching pipe may be operated by the method above indicated, or by anyother mechanism that will give the necessary movement. The preferredmovement of the punching pipe is a quick power stroke, and a practicallyinstantaneous withdrawal or return stroke, thus preventing as far aspossible the burning of the ends thereof. After the punching pipe hasbeen withdrawn back to its normal position, it remains there for anappre- 4 ciable length of time, so that the blast air owing both insidethe pipe and in the annular space around it may cool it oil! and thusprovide for a longer life.

.All of the foregoing and still further objects and advantages of theinvention will become apparent from a study ol the followingspeeitlcation, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,wherein like characters of reference indicate corresponding partsthroughout the several views and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the apparatus, showing atuyre pipe with its punching pipe, the power device whereby it isoperated, and the means for conveying the air to the tuyre pipe;

Fig. 2 is a partial side elevation thereof; and

Fig. 3 is a broken side elevation of a measuring rod adapted for usetherewith.

Referring to the drawings, the converter comprises a steel cylinder Ilined with refractory brick 2, fragmentary portions only of the cylinderand of the brick being shown in the drawings. Each one of the bricks onthe same horizontal row as brick 2a is pierced by a cylindrical openingin which is inserted a tuyre pipe 3. Extending horizontally above andbelow the row of tuyre pipes are supporting angles 4 and 5, the verticaliianges thereof being suitably secured to the steel cylinder. Securedrespectively to the horizontal flanges of the angles 4 and 5 are smallerangles 6 and 1, and the vertical flanges thereof support cover-plate 8which is provided with openings 9 in order that the tuyre pipes mayextend therethrough. The space between the brick and the steel cylinderI and cover-plate 8 is -filled with magnesite or other refractorycement.

A cast iron fitting I0 is secured to the coverplate 8, and the openingtherein is recessed at Ia in order to provide a bearing surface for theflared outer end of tuyre pipe 3.

A casting generally indicated at II is secured by bolts Ila to the rearflange of fitting I0, and it will be noted that the front end of thesaid casting II which is flanged bears against the flared end of tuyrepipe 3 which in turn bears against recessed opening Ina, thus providinga hermetically sealed assembly.

Casting I I is centrally divided by a wall I2, thus dividing it into twohalves, namely, the tuyre stock I3 and the power cylinder I4. Anextension I5 forms an integral part of the upper wall of the tuyre stockI3 and to it is suitably secured a universally movable connector I6 towhich is connected a short length of piping I1 leading from the airmanifold I8 (shown broken-away) which conveys the compressed air fromany convenient source of supply.

The front wall of the power cylinder is closed by a head I9 at thecentre of which is provided a suitable bearing 2U; a similar bearing 2|is provided in wall I2.

Positioned in the tuyre pipe 3 is the punching pipe 25 with attachedreplaceable tip 26 preferably made of cast iron or 'of some suitableheat resisting alloy. The inner end of tip 26 normally extends to withinthree or four inches of the tuyre opening when the punching pipe is inthe withdrawn position. At the opposite end, the walls of the punchingpipe are provided with apertures 21. Threaded into the said oppostie endof punching pipe 25 is a hollow driving shaft 28 which is reciprocablymounted in bearings 20 and 2|, and secured to the said driving shaft isthe annular power piston 2l which is reciprocable in power cylinder il.

Compressed air is supplied to the head end of the power cylinder throughpiplns 3l so as to give it a forward stroke, whereas compressed air isalternately supplied lto the other end of the power cylinder throughpiping 3| so as to provide a return stroke.

Any suitable control valve mechanism may be used to control the sequenceand time oi' the flow of compressed air through pipes 3l and li to thepower cylinder. Essentially. manually operated valves in pipes SIb andlib would be sumcient. In practice however, a solenoid actuated valve ispreferably used which may be controlled by an electronic timing devicewhich provides a time delay preferably of 45 seconds between each cycleof strokes and which causes the return stroke to occur practicallyinstantaneously after the forward stroke, and also which causes bothstrokes to be rapid. Since in each converter there are a large number oftuyre pipes, each of which is provided with the apparatus hereinbeforedescribed, it has been found most convenient to operate all theypunching pipes in synchronism'. Therefore, only one control valvemechanism is required for the whole series of punching pipes.Consequently, pipes 30 and 3| from each power cylinder lead respectivelyto master pipe lines 30a and Sla which are secured by any suitabebrackets to ansie 5; pipes 30h and lib lead respectively from masterpipe lines 30a and lia to the control valve 32. However, when the numberof tuyres is large, they may be divided into two or more banks which maybe operated by a corresponding number of control valves.

It is clear from the aforementioned description, that although punchingpipe 25 is always positioned in tuyre pipe 3, the flow of blast air tothe converter does not vary, irrespective of whether the punching pipeis in its normal withdrawn position as shown in full lines in Fig. 1, oris in its advanced position as shown in dotted lines in the said Fig. 1.The blast air flows both through the inner portion of the punching pipeannular piston 2l. the 28 thereof.

The distance between the inner end of a new brick 2a and say the outsideof head I9. and the distance between the inner end oi' a new tip 28 andtheouter end of hollow driving shaft 28 would of course be known. Thusby inserting measuring rod 34 through the hollow driving shaft,` theannular piston and the punching pipe and engaging the end of tip 28 withbend 38, the extent of the wear of the said tip 28 may be differentiallydetermined. Similarly by engaging the inner end of brick 2a with bend38, the extent of the wear of the said brick may also be determined.These measurements are taken when the converter is turned down and thetuyres are above the level voi! the bath, or when the converter isempty.

It is thought that the construction and use of the invention will beapparent from the above description of the various parts and theirpurpose. It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewithshown and described, is to be taken as a preferred example of the same,and that various changes in the shape. size and arrangement of parts maybe resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention orthe scope of the subjoined claims.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. A converter provided with tuyre, means to blast air through the saidtuyre, and means to remove accretions forming at inner end of the saidtuyre, said means comprising a hollow rod f within said tuyre having aninlet therein to permit the air to enter and flow through the hollowportion thereof, and means for reciprocating the said hollow rod withinthe tuyre, said means including a power cylinder secured to theconverter having bearings at its outer end and at itslinner end whichare in alignment with the tuyre, a piston in the said cylinder, a pistonrod extending through and reciprocally mountedV in the bearing in theinner end of the cylinder and connected at one end to the hollow rod andat the other end to the piston, another piston rod connected to thepiston extending through and and through the annular space between thepunching pipe and the tuyre pipe, and consequently the punching pipe isalways kept moderately cool and thereby its life is prolonged.

At predetermined time intervals, punching pipe 25 is moved or shotforward quickly by means oi compressed air coming through pipe 30 whichforces piston 29 forward. When thepunching pipe has reached its maximumadvanced position or soon thereafter (depending on the characteristicsof the control valve), the air pressure in pipe 30 is released andthevpressure is transferred to pipe 3 I; consequently, the power pistonis returned to its rearward position practically instantaneously.

A closure 33 is threaded into the end of hollow driving lshaft 2B. Theobject of this removable closure is to provide an easily accessibleopening through which may be inserted a suitable rod for determining theextent to which the tip 26 of the punching pipe and the refractory brick2a adjacent the inner end of the tuyre pipe have become burned or wornout.

The rod is preferably as shown in Fig. 3, and

I it comprises a long handle 35 with a short right angle bend 36 at oneend thereof. The bent por'- tion must be suiiiciently short that it maybe inreciprocally mounted in the bearing in the outer end of thecylinder, means for the conveyance of a fluid under pressure to thecylinder to cause the said piston and hollow rod to reciprocate, thesaid hollow rod being spaced from the sides of the tuyre to provide apassage for a portion of the blast air between the outside of the rodand the tuyre, the air passing through and around the hollow rod servingalso to cool the said rod.

2. A converter provided with a tuyre, means to blast air through thesaid tuyre, and means to remove accretions forming at inner end of thesaid tuyre, said means comprising a hollow rod within said tuyre havingan inlet therein to permit the air to enter and flow through the hollowportion thereof, and means for reciprocating the said hollow rod withinthe tuyre, said means including a power cylinder secured to theconverter having bearings at its outer 'end and at its inner end whichare in alignment with the tuyre, a piston in the said cylinder, a pistonrod extending through and reciprocally mounted in the bearing in theinner end of the cylinder and connected at one end to the hollow rod andat the other end tc serted through the hollow driving shaft 2l, the 7sder pressure to the cylinder to cause the Bald 6 punching pipe 2l andtip 7 piston and hollow rod to reciprocate, a central REFERENCES CITEDpassageway provided from the hollow rod through The following referencesare of record m the the piston and piston rod assembly, a closure on theouter end of the second mentioned piston rod, me 0f this patent' y thesaid closure being openable so as to permit 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS theinsertion of a measuring rod or the like i through the piston and pistonrod assembly and umher Name Date through the hollow rod 570129 HartmanOct' 27 1896 616,101 Hartman Dec. 20, 189B THOMAS WILLARD CAVERS2,244,079 Phllllps June 3, 1941 JOHN ALFRED COOK FRANKLIN. FOREIGNPATENTS REGINALD CLARE MOTT. Number Country Date HUGH FREDRICK CHARLESTAYLOR 261,776 Great Britain June 9, 1927

